Next Friday the three of us will head out to WV. I’m looking forward to seeing my mom & dad, my brother and his family, some aunts & cousins, and good friends.
The part I’m not looking forward to is the gathering of all the things that need to go with us! I have an all day trade show event next Thursday, so by Wednesday night I need to have everything in place. As I type my mind is making lists:
- prescriptions
- cpap machine for my apnea and intolerable snoring
- get all laundry clean
- don’t wear and/or get dirty the things that I want to pack
- gather & pack clothes ensemble for me for company holiday portrait on Sunday afternoon
- buy & pack Christmas dress, tights, shoes, hair fru-fru for Z, who will also be in the photo
- Presentable clothes for all of us in case we go to church
- Cinderella dress, glass slippers & crown for trick or treat
- matching tights & turtleneck in case it’s cold when the princess is trick or treating
- coats for all of us in case the temps really dip, which they could
- work related paperwork for the work week in WV
- box of things for archiving/filing at the WV office
- business cards for Nicole to “doctor” while I’m in
- call/go see my dear friend in Beckley who has every right to shun me for not communicating with her but once over the last 11 months
- call G’s WV doctor office AGAIN (since they never returned my call) and get treatment scheduled
- schedule meeting with realtor regarding sale of our house – or lack thereof
- sweep, mop, vacuum, empty fridge, change sheets, clean toilets (I hate to return home to a big mess)
- stop the mail
- get oil changed
- pack Z’s favorite music and her Storybook Bible that she LOVES to read every night
- pack Z’s recent school pictures to distribute
- call preschool in WV to schedule Monday and Wednesday if possible
- healthy snacks & water for the trip
- find the DVD player that works, set up in car, gather various DVDs
- Get a couple new DVDs as a surprise for Z’s long trip
- There’s so much more…..really.
You get the picture. Believe it or not, this is not a complaint, just the reality of preparing to leave. I won’t even start talking about returning home, unpacking and getting back to our regular routine - which seems to take about two weeks. That’s when I usually have decided that life would just work a lot better if I actually took the underwear OUT of the suitcase, put it back the drawer and store the suitcase. I can’t be the only one who does that.
The very best part of going to WV is seeing my parent’s faces light up when they are around Z – and vice versa. It is worth every effort of packing, planning, and then eventually running to the store because you forgot the something-or-other that you meant to bring.
And when you are at Mom & Dad’s house it’s ok to just chill, read the paper, borrow shampoo because you forgot yours, try some lotion that my mom swears is helping her dry skin these days, hop in bed with Z & my mom before bedtime and just enjoy watching and being with Z together.
I hope that Z goes to many interesting places in her lifetime. That she will not be afraid to adventure, explore and learn about new things and new people. Odds are, she won’t live just down the street. But I hope, no matter how overwhelming it may be to prepare for a visit, she can always come home and feel as good as I do when I’m with my parents.
Filed under: Extended Family | Tagged: children, home, packing, parents, planning, travel
I guess it is something we have just not talked about. I am so glad to know you really do love doing all those little things when you visit mawmaw and pawpaw in WV. I always want my family to feel they can chill out, pitch in and lay back when they are at our home. I want you to have good memories of your trips to WV.
It will be exciting to see all four grandchildren going Trick or Treating this year. PawPaw said he was going to dress up too.